Anita van Lier (married name Beecheno-van Lier; born 19 April 1952) is a Dutch former international cricketer who represented the Dutch national team between 1978 and 1993, including as captain for a number of years.
Van Lier made her debut for the Netherlands in 1978, on a tour of England. Her first international appearances came at the 1983 Centenary Tournament in Utrecht (featuring Denmark and Ireland), by which time she had been appointed captain.Women's miscellaneous matches played by Anita Beecheno-van Lier – CricketArchive. Retrieved 16 April 2016. In August 1984, van Lier was named captain of the Dutch team for their maiden One Day International (ODI) match, a one-off fixture against New Zealand to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the national federation.Women's ODI matches played by Anita Beecheno-van Lier – CricketArchive. Retrieved 16 April 2016. She opened the batting with Irene Schoof, scoring 45 runs out of a team total of 117 as the Netherlands lost by 67 runs.Netherlands Women v New Zealand Women, Nederlandsche Dames Cricket Bond 50th Anniversary Tournament 1984 (Only ODI) – CricketArchive. Retrieved 16 April 2016. At the 1986 Women's Quadrangular in Belfast, which included Denmark, England A, Ireland, and the Netherlands, van Lier was the overall leading run-scorer. She finished with 174 runs from three innings, including 56 against Ireland and 100 not out against Denmark.Batting and fielding in Women's Quadrangular Tournament 1986 (ordered by runs) – CricketArchive. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
Captaining the Netherlands at the 1988 World Cup in Australia, van Lier made 159 runs from eight innings, with a highest score of 46 against Ireland. She was the only Dutchwoman to score more than 100 runs during the tournament.Batting and fielding for Netherlands women, Shell Bicentennial Women's World Cup 1988/89 – CricketArchive. Retrieved 16 April 2016. She also bowled the third-highest number of overs for her team, taking three wickets.Bowling for Netherlands women, Shell Bicentennial Women's World Cup 1988/89 – CricketArchive. Retrieved 16 April 2016. Van Lier relinquished the captaincy after the World Cup, and did not return to the national line-up until the 1993 World Cup in England, by which time she was 39. However, she had lost none of her form from the previous tournament, finishing as her team's leading wicket-taker and third highest run scorer.Batting and fielding for Netherlands women, Women's World Cup 1988/89 – CricketArchive. Retrieved 16 April 2016.Bowling for Netherlands women, Women's World Cup 1993 – CricketArchive. Retrieved 16 April 2016. Against the West Indies, she took 4/24 from 8.4 overs, helping the Dutch team to its only victory of the tournament.Netherlands Women v West Indies Women, Women's World Cup 1993 – CricketArchive. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
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